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Two months from today, Epic Universe will open at Universal Orlando. It looks amazing and will be a huge hit due to Nintendo, Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, and Monsters lands. Unsurprisingly, many fans are wondering how Walt Disney World will “answer” the opening of that new theme park on May 22, 2025 or over the Memorial Day weekend summer kickoff.
This addresses the titular question, with plausible possibilities as to what Walt Disney World will do–while also ruling out a few unrealistic ones. We already know what they won’t do. Walt Disney World has announced new lands and attractions, the earliest of which debut in 2027. While there are a few reimagined rides that’ll start debuting this summer with Test Track 3.0, that’s expected in late summer–meaning at least one full month after Epic Universe. No new or redone rides are coming before then.
Nevertheless, fans still want splashy announcements that steal the spotlight. I’ve heard from more than one WDW diehard in the last couple of weeks who, despite all evidence to the contrary, remains convinced that May 22 will be the perfect opportunity for Walt Disney World to announce its 5th gate. That’s not happening. Not on May 22 or any time this decade. Bluntly, it’s so far-fetched that we’re not even entertaining the idea. (Here’s Why a 5th Theme Park Will NOT Be Built at Walt Disney World in the Next Decade.)
As has been discussed to death at this point, Disney won’t have any official answer to Epic Universe. CEO Bob Iger has contended that Epic Universe is really Universal’s answer to Disney, playing catch-up on a decade of nonstop development at Walt Disney World and that the company doesn’t have anxiety about Universal’s third theme park.
Epic Universe did not come up at all during this week’s Walt Disney Company 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. It has been covered on the last few earnings calls, with CFO Hugh Johnston offering somewhat mixed signals. Generally speaking, Disney’s view is that Epic Universe is “Actually Positive” for Walt Disney World Attendance in 2025, but they’ve also built in some cautious and conservative negative guidance.
Disney indicates that it has modeled Epic Universe into its projections for Walt Disney World by looking at early bookings and the history of other attractions and other theme parks opening in Florida, all of which suggested Epic Universe will be beneficial for Walt Disney World. We’ve quibbled with this–and contended that Epic Universe will impact Walt Disney World unevenly, boosting Magic Kingdom but hitting Animal Kingdom hard.
Disney’s public position is that a “rising tide lifts all boats.” Even so, Walt Disney World will still need to do something as an attempt at counterprogramming to Epic Universe. They won’t benefit from the higher tide if their boat has holes in it. Obviously nothing Walt Disney World does will be on the same scale as Epic Universe, but there are things that could be done to peel days–or even hotel stays–away from Universal when visitors come to Orlando for Epic Universe.
This is the list of realistic smaller scale ways that Walt Disney World can “answer” the opening of Epic Universe on or around May 22, 2025…
Wild Card News
Around this time last year, Walt Disney World announced its summer plans. This included a few small scale temporary additions and characters to promote the summer movie releases, along with the expected opening of CommuniCore Hall and the surprise Disney Dreams That Soar drone show.
I’m not going to drone on about it yet again, but I still do not believe that superlative Disney Springs nighttime entertainment was the end game for drones at Walt Disney World. My hope and expectation is that there are plans for a follow-up act at Animal Kingdom in Summer 2025. And yet, we’ve heard absolutely nothing about it and there have been no leaks, suggesting that maybe it’s not happening this year.
Regardless, I’d expect another wild card like that for Summer 2025 that comes out of left field. And Memorial Day weekend is always a big time for new additions and summer offerings. For reference, Disney Dreams That Soar debuted the Friday before Memorial Day last year, whereas Epic Universe opens on Thursday and Disney has debuted many past additions on that Thursday or Friday.
Accordingly, Walt Disney World could “answer” Universal’s new theme park with surprise entertainment debuting that same weekend. If that happens, it’ll be coincidental–because Memorial Day weekend is the customary kickoff to summer for theme parks–not because Disney views that entertainment as “competing” with Epic Universe.
Starlight Parade Debut
It’s pretty much the same story here, but with a known quantity in Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away Parade.
If past precedent is any indication, Walt Disney World is going to announce the Starlight debut date soon. Our hope for a while has been that Disney would do the savvy thing and pull forward the Starlight date so it’s a week or more before Epic Universe, which kills two birds with one stone.
The first is that it offers a slight release valve on crowds, which is precisely why Disneyland is debuting Paint the Night and its 70th Anniversary on May 16 instead of Memorial Day weekend. Central Florida now has a huge local fanbase, and there are out-of-state Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members who will travel for Magic Kingdom’s first new night parade in decades. Getting some of that demand ‘out of the system’ before summer tourist crowds arrive makes sense.
Debuting Starlight earlier also gives it some breathing room from a marketing perspective, allowing it to not get lost in the Epic Universe grand opening news cycle. For this reason alone, it makes the most sense to put at least one week between that new park’s opening and Starlight–ideally with the parade first. Otherwise, it’ll still be overshadowed and fans will turn it into a punchline: “Universal opened a brand new park and Disney countered with a measly parade!” (Let’s be real: people are going to say stuff like that no matter what–even if there’s radio silence from Disney Parks on all channels on May 22.)
As is probably obvious, these first two entries are things that could form Disney’s substantive “answer” (air quotes, since timing would be coincidental) in debuting alongside Epic Universe. What follows is how Disney could try to steal the spotlight with splashy news of its own…
Animation Courtyard Announcement
What the company has announced thus far is essentially the 5-Year Plan for Walt Disney World, and leadership previously stated that spending would be “backloaded” into the second half of the decade. If you think about it, this makes sense. Tropical Americas is a reimagining plus one major new ride that’ll land somewhere between the Little Mermaid dark ride and Mystic Manor in terms of ambitiousness.
Monstropolis is a reimagining, plus dusting off the decades-old plans for the Monsters Doors Coaster. That looks fun and won’t be cheap, but not because it’s overly ambitious–because nothing Imagineering does is cost-effective. The jury is still out on Cars Land, which is more accurately a subsection of Frontierland and will feature a major (hopefully?) attraction along with a flat ride. Then there’s Villains Land, which should have a blockbuster budget…but might be part of the second half of the 10-year plan.
There are a ton of rumors swirling for what’s next, all with varying degrees of veracity. The only one I’ve heard credibly from multiple sources is that Animation Courtyard is on the chopping block. (Even without credible sources, you probably could’ve guessed that. Animation Courtyard is like the wing of a mall where Sears went out of business in 1998. It’s been prime for redevelopment for over a decade.)
Less reliably, I’ve also heard that its replacement is an ambitious concept and is already set. I’ve hinted at this in other posts, suggesting that it’s a land once floated for Animal Kingdom expansion that would also work (or rather, would only actually work) in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
All of this also makes sense. The reason Monstropolis went to Muppets Courtyard instead of Animation Courtyard is because there are bigger and better plans for the latter, and Monstropolis is comparatively smaller scale. While I disagree with the decision to remove MuppetVision, I can also see how replacing Animation Courtyard at this point would’ve been shortsighted. But in my view, the actual solution would be flipping the order of these projects and doing the more ambitious one first, as Animation Courtyard is a blighted ‘dead mall’ zone in the middle of DHS.
Regardless of all that, I have zero reason to believe this Animation Courtyard announcement is planned anytime soon. To the contrary, it’s my understanding that there aren’t any major announcements coming this year. That Disney shot its shot at the last D23 Expo, and the next major event will be the 2026 D23 Expo, more or less skipping Destination D23. And honestly, this might be premature even for 2026, as literally nothing from the last slate will have opened by then.
Kicking the can down the road for an Animation Courtyard announcement is also why I’ve been cryptic with clues about what’s rumored. Even if it were 100% reliable at this point, nothing is really 100% reliable that’s unofficial and won’t be announced for another few years. So much could change between now and then, from construction costs and the economy to box office and Disney+ streaming performances. Heck, I’m skeptical of projects that are officially announced but have a time horizon 3+ years into the future!
I give this announcement a less than 1% chance of happening as an “answer” to Epic Universe’s opening.
Villains Land Reveal
Speaking of skepticism about projects that are officially announced but have a time horizon 3+ years into the future, Villains Land is the one D23 announcement about which we know virtually nothing. It’s also the project that is, itself, an indirect answer to something at Epic Universe–the classic monsters land, Dark Universe.
Given that, it might make sense for Walt Disney World to attempt to steal the spotlight from Epic Universe by hyping up its own ‘dark’ universe within Magic Kingdom. After all, Disney executives and Imagineers will have been invited by Universal Orlando to experience Epic Universe by that point, so they’ll know whether their own concepts are up to par.
What I’d like to see happen is for Imagineers to make these visits to Dark Universe and be inspired by them when developing Villains Land. In a perfect world, Imagineering would even poach some of the creatives that developed Dark Universe, or scoop up some of the project-based hires who have already left Universal Creative. This would mean that Walt Disney World’s own “answer” to Dark Universe would be a bit more time incubating before it’s ready for a reveal.
Beyond all of that, there’s just nothing of value to be gained by Walt Disney World revealing Villains Land as an “answer” to Epic Universe’s opening. It captures some fan attention and hype. Okay, so what? It would also remind guests that Magic Kingdom’s expansion is ~5 years away, whereas they can experience Dark Universe today.
They Won’t.
This “to what end?” point is a segue into the most plausible outcome: Walt Disney World does absolutely nothing to attempt to steal the spotlight from Epic Universe. First and foremost, because it won’t be effective. One thing we’ve stressed for years–long before Disney spoke publicly about Epic Universe–is that the only thing that can truly “answer” a new theme park is…another new theme park. And since we knew Walt Disney World has no intentions to build a 5th gate, we could fairly surmise that their best strategy might be largely sitting out 2025.
The same sentiment should obviously apply to announcements. Again and again, we’ve seen this odd notion from jaded fans that Walt Disney World only made the D23 announcements to take attention away from Universal, and after Epic Universe opens, the plans would quietly be cancelled. That it was all a ruse, and Disney has no intentions of building it. Bluntly, this is stupid. Again, the question is: to what end? Is there a single solitary person who’s going to forgo an Epic Universe trip in 2025 because Walt Disney World might have exciting new stuff coming in 2029?
Maybe such a unicorn exists, but broadly speaking, that’s not how people plan family vacations. Disney would’ve spent way more money developing these concepts and making the announcement than whatever they theoretically gained from the attention. It’s not 4D chess, I assure you. It’s like playing checkers against my dog–and he’s not one of the smart, talking ones. Best case scenario is he doesn’t try to eat the pieces.
All of this is also why Walt Disney World probably won’t announce anything new on or around Epic Universe’s opening day. It will make zero difference whatsoever to Disney’s bottom line. It’s also why they should attempt to give Epic Universe wide berth with their own summer campaign.
If anything, all of this news would be buried under coverage of Universal Orlando’s third theme park. It would also just be a bad look that makes Disney look petty. About the only exception to this that I can think of is if Walt Disney World has negative news and it wants to “take out the trash” May 22, 2025. So perhaps that’s the day we get a closing date for the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.
BONUS: Congratulatory Newspaper Ad
If I were in charge, the only thing Walt Disney World would “announce” on May 22, 2025 is “congratulations to Universal Orlando.” There’s a rich history of this collegiality among the “rival” theme parks, most notably with Knott’s Berry Farm (above) and Disneyland trading congratulatory newspaper ads in the Los Angeles Times and Orange County Register for decades.
The most recent digital instance of this that I could track down came from a couple of years back when former Disneyland President and current Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro shared this on Instagram: “Congratulations to my friend Jon Storbeck and the entire team at Knott’s Berry Farm for their 100th Anniversary! I was very touched to be invited to the preview party for your celebration last night! It was great to see you!”
There’s likewise precedent for the same with Universal, albeit not as much that I could track down. There are plenty of instances of executives and Imagineers attending grand openings–from the recent Super Nintendo World in Hollywood to Eisner at Islands of Adventure. Unsurprisingly so, since many people within the two “competitors” have worked for both, and have Annual Passes for the parks where they don’t currently work.
I could see modern Disney being reluctant to publicly acknowledge Epic Universe, fearful of drawing attention to the new park or having analysis paralysis about how it would impact their bookings and perception. My advice would be: don’t overthink it.
Literally no one is going to learn about Epic Universe for the first time thanks to a post from @DisneyParks on social media or a newspaper ad in the Orlando Sentinel. It won’t cause anyone to change their vacation plans, or anything of the sort. The only thing it could conceivably do is show the Walt Disney World still has graciousness, and truly believes it when they claim that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Disney has no cards they can play that would steal Universal’s thunder, but this could at least make them part of the conversation in a positive way. It won’t happen…but it should.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
How do you think Walt Disney World will “answer” the opening of Epic Universe over Memorial Day weekend? Or is “they won’t” the most likely possibility in your mind? Is it also the best move? Expect Starlight and other summer offerings to debut around May 22, or will Disney give Universal a week-plus buffer? Think Disney has cause for concern, or do you generally agree that a rising tide lifts all boats? Any other thoughts or commentary to add? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
